Revolver celebrates three years of rowdy literature events

Revolver is growing up, but they promise they still know how to throw a wild party. Three years ago, the literary arts organization grabbed the Twin Cities’ attention with a launch reception designed as a boxing match. Even though it was their first official event, a crowd of 700 showed up to watch writers spar in literary matches. Since then, Revolver has produced a frenzy of creative events, cementing their place in the local lit scene and proving that literature can be much more than a private, solitary pastime.

“I think we’ve grown up a lot in these past three years,” says Ross Nervig, Revolver’s director of special projects. To the delight of their fans, Revolver’s growth has been anything but predictable. What started as an upstart publication quickly evolved into multidisciplinary experimentation, such as their installation art in MCAD’s Main Gallery and their recent venture into the world of geocaching.

City Pages named Revolver Best Literary Event in 2014, and fans of the group know they’ve continued to stay busy. Among a variety of accomplishments this year, the group churned out an iOS app, collaborated with the Walker Art Center, and saw one of their regular contributors, Marlon James, win the Man Booker Prize. To round off their year of raucous literary adventure, Revolver returns to the Ritz Theater this Friday to perform nine new literary experiments.

Revolver isn't a stranger to the Ritz. In January of 2014 the group performed 12 literary experiments to a sold-out crowd at the theater. Among many things, the show featured impromptu essays, scientists talking about the science in non-science subjects, harmonica players with wings, failed confetti guns, and poets wrestling. This new show will be the group’s second at the Ritz, and while Revolver is not revealing too many details, they promise plenty of surprises. (There are whispers of conspiracy theories and puppy videos.)

“We can still get plenty rowdy,” Nervig insists. “But I think our tastes, the way we execute our events, and our ability to impress each other has matured. I think we make each other laugh more now than we did in the beginning.” Revolver at the Ritz: 9 Experiments will be a great demonstration of their growth, as well as a welcome send-off into a new year of whimsy and innovation. Reserve your tickets in advance, as Revolver’s last show at the Ritz sold out. (And boxing poets only come around every so often.)